[Florablunder]

My strawberries were doing well in a raised bed, but as they had been there for 3 years, I decided to move them last autumn to the open ground, and added a load of new plants. The fruits have been really disappointing - not many of them, and most of them small and dry. It has been a very dry spring/summer here - could it be that I didn't water them enough? Just wondering if I should move them back to a raised bed, or leave them and see if they do any better next year. I was hoping with more plants I would have a good crop this year, but I've ended up with far fewer strawbs that I got previously!

[Yorkie]

Several possibilities:

- yes, they might not have been watered enough.
- did you feed them?
- they might just be getting established.

[mumofstig]

The RHS says

Expect strawberry plants to crop successfully for three years before replacing them. Crop rotation is recommended to minimise the risk of an attack by pests and diseases in the soil.

Doesn't explain why the new plants didn't crop well, though so I'd go with the not enough watering/feeding options

[Florablunder]

Thanks both. Yes, I think it was lack of water - found it hard this year as it has been so dry and I haven't had time to go up during the week to water. Have had a few plants dry up and die and others that just haven't grown very well. At least I'll know for next year!

[brokenglass]

The UK is an interesting place indeed as in Central Scotland we have had a cold miserable and very wet Summer yet others in the UK have been plagued with dry hot weather.   If only we had such a problem even for a few days!